After a two-week trial, an Aurora, Colorado, police officer who violently detained Elijah McClain during the young Black man’s fatal encounter with police was found not guilty on Monday on all charges related to McClain’s death.
After the verdict, Nathan Woodyard’s duty as an officer will be reviewed after the department suspended him without pay pending the trial’s outcome.
Woodyard was the last of three Aurora Police Department officers on trial in McClain’s death and the second to be acquitted of his death.
McClain met his demise after three officers stopped him as he was walking home from a store before using a dangerous chokehold and medics administering an even more dangerous sedative that caused the 140-pound McClain to go into cardiac arrest — from which he never recovered. A 911 caller had reported McClain as suspicious because he was wearing a ski mask and gesticulating with his hands as he walked home.
Woodyard was charged but found not guilty of reckless manslaughter and the lesser included charge of criminally negligent homicide on Monday, Nov. 6, around 3 p.m.
The trial centered on what exactly killed McClain, his interaction with Woodyard and medical professionals.
Woodyard’s defense contended that his actions, though forceful and possibly rushed, were not the direct cause of the young man’s death. The lawyers pointed to the Adams County coroner’s report.
“After review of all material available to us at this time, it is my opinion that this 23-year-old, African American male, Elijah McClain, died of complications of ketamine administration following forcible restraint,” the coroner’s office explained.
A jury deliberated on the facts for two days before coming to a unanimous verdict. They did not believe his involvement contributed to the 23-year-old’s death.
While the acquittal brings relief to Woodyard, who had been in flux regarding his career since 2019, it is devastating news to…
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